The war torn Yemen has recorded its first Coronavirus case in the country on Friday.
According to the national emergency committee a 60-year-old man in the southern oil-producing region of Hadramawt tested positive.
Spokesman Ali al-Walidi said the man was in a stable condition at a quarantine centre.
Authorities quickly sealed off the port where the man works and told other employees to self-isolate for two weeks.
The neighbouring regions of Shabwa and Al Mahra also sealed their borders with Hadhramout, where a 12-hour nightly curfew has been imposed.
News of the first Covid-19 case came a day after the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen began a ceasefire saying it wanted to help stop coronavirus spread and support UN peace efforts.
The Saudi-led coalition has been battling Houthi rebels since 2015. It intervened after the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognised government from power in the capital Sanaa.
UN humanitarian co-coordinator Lise Grande said the effect of the virus in Yemen would be “catastrophic” if it spread.
“For weeks we have feared this, and now it’s happened. After five years of war, people across the country have some of the lowest levels of immunity and highest levels of acute vulnerability in the world,” she said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was providing medical supplies, testing kits, ventilators and training to Yemen’s health services to combat the virus spread.
